Recovery
by The Ninja Acount
Summary: They had been missing for a month, before their brothers found them. And a month in the hands of a mad man can do funny things to you. But, it's time to try and recover
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey. I'm new to fanfiction, sooooo here's my first fic. IT'S NOT A ONE-SHOT. I've seen so many with the turtles grateful to have their brother/brothers back, and ready to face everything that comes their way, but I hardly ever see what comes their way. So here's a story, with the recovery.**

**I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES! I'M NOT POSITIVE WHO DOES, BUT IT'S NOT ME,**

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They had found them. After a month of looking for their missing baby brothers, they had found them.

Bishop had somehow managed to capture Mikey and Don. Leo and Raph had freaked out when, in the morning, they found their two little brothers had not returned home the night before. They had found the battle shell at the junkyard, and had become even more worried when they found Don's Bo split in half, and Mikey's nunchuck chain broken. Blood was nearby.

The two frantic older brothers searched everywhere they could think of, desperate to find their missing brothers. And, after time, they had gotten a lead as to where they may be.

That lead led Raph and Leo to Mikey and Don.

They had gone through the abandoned building carefully, afraid that it could be a trap. But, soon enough, they came to a small cell in the basement. A cell, that held both of their brothers.

Don and Mikey looked terrible. They were close together, holding the other as if afraid to let go. Neither had their mask, belt, or knee pads and elbow pads on. They had dirt and blood all over them. Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion was clear from how they looked. Both of them looked up when the door opened. Their eyes were dazed, but held fear in them as well.

Leo and Raph were horrified by their brother's appearance, but hid it. They slowly sat down, letting the tortured turtles realize who it was who had opened the door. Mikey realized it was their brothers first. He leaned into Don a little more, and said something to him that the older two didn't hear. Don's eyes never left them, but widened when he saw that it truley was their brothers.

"Leo?" the hoarse voice of Donatello mad Leo want to cry, but he held back and nodded.

"Raphie?" it was Michelangelo's voice that hurt Raph, but he somehow managed to smile at his baby brother.

"It's us, guys," Leo said quietly, "Gave us quite a scare, little brothers. But we need to get out of here. Can you walk?"

Mikey and Don looked dazed, as if they were somewhere else as well, but both nodded, and slowly began to get up. Raph and Leo were right there to help them.

Getting out of the horrid place was slow going. Mikey and Don could hardly walk, and eventually the two older turtles just picked the two up. No protest was heard from one of the damaged turtles. It seamed as if they hardly noticed.

The drive home was uneventful. Raph drove (slowly for once) while Leo looked over the two formerly missing turtles. It was easy to see they needed food, water, and a good long sleep, but it was hard to tell if they were injured due to all the grime covering their bodies. Leo gave them some water from the many water bottles kept in the battle shell.

They got back to the lair late at night (or early in the morning) and Master Splinter was asleep. Raph and Leo silently agreed to let him sleep, for the last month had been hard on their father.

"Guys," Raph said gently to the two dazed turtles, who turned their heads to look at him as he spoke. "Me and Leo are goin' ta bring ya both to the bathroom and help you clean up. OK?" Mikey and Don both nodded, so the older brothers brought them to the bathroom.

They quickly cleaned them up, getting all the dirt and blood off of them, being very gentle in case they were hurt. What worried the two protective older brothers was how they had some injuries, that were already taken care of. Mikey had a stitched up cut on the back of his head, while Donny had many different stitched up cuts all over his arms and legs. Both had filthy bandages, covered in dirty and blood, pressed against their sides, and we're covered in smaller lacerations everywhere. Not knowing what else to do, Leo and Raph used the first aid kit to quickly clean and bandage their wounds.

As they worked silently, they couldn't help but worry about the two injured turtles. Usually, Mikey would complain on how the rubbing alcohol stung, making a big deal of his injuries. Usually, Don would tell them exactly what to do, if he let his brothers bandage him up that is. Usually, both nearly always would try to hide any other injuries. But both of them sat silently, watching their brothers patch them up, even being somewhat helpful when it came to spotting smaller injuries.

It worried the older two more then anything.

Raph and Leo finished caring to their brothers's injuries at nearly the same time. "How about we get you guys to bed? You look really tired," Leo suggested. Mikey and Don mutely nodded as they stood up slowly. The older siblings helped the younger siblings to their rooms.

That's when things got a little strange.

Mikey went first. As he and Raph started turning to go into Mikey's room, Mikey started struggling in Raph's grip, trying to go a different way then his room. Don started soon after, struggling to get away from Leo. The worried older brothers locked eyes for the briefest moment, before turning so that Mikey and Don could see each other again. Both stressed siblings calmed instantly after seeing the other. Protective older brothers shared another look.

"You guys want to sleep together?" Raph asked the two, who nodded destactedly. Raph quickly steered Mikey towards Donnie's, barley used, room. The four brothers entered the room, walking over to the bed. Raph put Mikey down on one side, while Leo put Donnie on the other. Both turtles instantly moved closer together, seeking comfort through a well known touch. They quickly fell asleep.

Leo and Raph left the room quietly, only going right outside the door to the room, not willing to go far away from the two sleeping turtles.

"God, Leo," Raph said, "What the hell's wrong with 'um?"

Leo sighed. "I don't know, Raph. They seemed out of it, like they were drugged or something."

Raph nodded in agreement. "They don't seem hurt to bad, but I don't even want to think about half of thoes new scars came from."

"Neither do I," Leo agreed, "But you know we need to push past that, right?" When Raph nodded, ever so slightly, Leo continued "Our little brothers need us, Raph. And we need to be there for them."

"I know, Fearless," Raph snapped, "But it gets me so mad thinking about what they must have gone through, what Bishop must have done to them."

"I know, Raph," Leo put a comforting hand on Raph's arm, "But we'll make it through this. Just like we always do."

And so the two older brothers walked back into Donnie's room, ready to face all the challenges to come.

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**Like it? Hate it? Think I'm awful and should just stop writing now and save myself the humiliation? Tell me. Please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So people seemed to enjoy this, so I'm going to continue it and hope that I don't murder the idea, or make anyone OOC.**

**I DO NOT OWN THE TURTLES!**

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It was nearly 24 hours latter before Don, or Mikey awoke. Their brothers never left their side, taking short naps in chairs they placed next to the bed. Master Splinter had not been pleased when he found out that his missing sons had been found, and he had not been told, but he saw the truth in his elder son's words as to why he wasn't informed right when they were found, so he let it go.

Raph and Leo worried about how long their brothers were sleeping. Usually, they have Don to tell them that it was natural, and that the injured brother was ok. Usually they had Mikey to distract them, with his lame jokes.

But they both nearly had a heart attack when they did finally wake.

Mikey had started moving in his sleep, fidgeting, eyes moving behind closed lids. It lifted the older brothers's spirits, knowing it ment he would wake up soon. Don still wasn't moving though.

Then, Mikey's fidgeting started turning to and trough, thrashing around in the bed. The conscious brothers recognized the signs of a nightmare, having found Mikey in the grips of the bad dream many times before. They both rushed to try and comfort him, but they didn't get there before another certain turtle.

Don, who had been unconscious only seconds earlier, with no signs of waking up showing, was running his hands up and down Mikey's arms, trying to comfort and wake the younger turtle up at the same time. Raph and Leo stood back, letting Don help. It was more shock that Don was up that held them back.

Mikey was still thrashing around, yelling out a little now. But Don just continued to try and comfort him and get him away from the grip of what was plaguing his dreams. Slowly, ever so slowly, Mikey began to wake up. His thrashing stopped as his eyes opened. He saw Don and whimpered once before throwing himself in to his big brother's arms. Don held him tightly, slowly running his hands up and down Mikey's shell.

Leo and Raph hung back, giving the tramitized turtles space.

It seemed like forever to Raph and Leo before their brothers broke apart. They sat back against the headboard of the bed (still very close together). They looked around. Something flickered in their eyes.

Two pairs of eyes locked on the older turtles in the room, and a gasp of surprise was heard. "Leo?" Donnie asked hesitantly. "Raph? But if your here... And we're still home... It wasn't a dream?" His voice sounded hoarse, lined with hardly hidden fear.

"It's us, Donnie," Leo said quietly in a comforting tone. "It was all real. Raph and I looked everywhere for you two, and we finally found you. You're safe now. You're home. Everything will be OK." While Leo was talking, he and Raph had slowly made their way over to the side of the bed. They each sat down on the edge; Raph on Mikey's side, and Leo on Don's.

Suddenly, Mikey launched himself into Raph's arms. Raph moved quickly to hug his brother. Raph could feel Mikey trembling in his arms, scared to death. Raph was pissed. He was mad anyone would scare poor, innocent Mikey like this. To make the usually happy-go-luck turtle so sad should be a crime.

Don and Leo watched the two of them for a minute. Leo turned to look at Don, and noticed he looked envious. Leo knew that this younger brother didn't let emotions show easily, even to his brothers. But Leo had learned how to read Don, and knew that he wanted the same thing. So Leo touched Don's arm, and Don quickly turned to look at him with a sharp intake of breath. When he saw who it was, he relaxed for a moment before jumping into his older brother's arms. Leo put his arms around his little brother quickly.

The four of them stayed like that for awhile. The older brothers hugging the younger, looking very protective. The younger brothers clinging to the older, afraid if they let go they would find that it had all been an illusion.

They finally pulled apart at roughly the same time. They all sat on the overcrowded bed for a little longer before Leo broke the silence. "Are you guys hungry?" he asked.

Don nodded yes, while Mikey shook his no. Before the older two could say anything, Don leaned in and whispered something to the youngest turtle. Mikey stared at him for a minute before nodding, slightly and slowly.

"We'll both eat," Don spoke quietly. The elder turtles nodded, and Raph stood up to go and get the soup Masster Splinter had said he would make and leave on the stove for when the turtles awoke.

Before Raph could leave the room, he heard a whimper from the bed. He turned around quickly and saw Mikey starring at him. Fear in his eyes. Don looked pale as well, but he was trying to hide his fear.

"Don't leave," Don begged, "Don't leave us. Please, please don't go. We're sorry. We're so, so, sorry."

Leo grabbed Don's hand in a comforting manner, as Raph sprinted over to the bed and

took Mikey's. Both younger turtles seemed near hysterics, and their brothers tryed there hardest to calm them down. It worked after a while.

Leo and Raph were both thinking quickly, trying to figure out what to do. Their brothers needed to eat something, and drink some water as well. Leo came up with a solution. "How about we all go down into the kitchen to get something to eat?" Raph shot him a look that almost looked grateful, while Mikey and Don seemed to perk up slightly.

Leo and Raph helped their injured brothers into the kitchen, and saw the pot that Splinter must have made the soup in. The older turtles assisted the younger two into a chair, then moved quickly to get the food and water the younger two needed so bad.

They all ate in a comfortable silence as they ate. Mikey and Don ate slowly, almost hesitantly, as Raph and Leo ate at a faster pase while keeping an eye on their brothers.

The meal was finished soon after it had begun (with Don bot eating a lot, and Mikey even less). Leo thought it would be a good idea to change the bandages on Mikey and Don. They didn't argue as the first-aid kit was collected, and they were brought into the living room to have their injuries treated.

The younger turtles began to fall asleep while their brothers were tending to their injuries. By the time all the bandages were changed, both were in a deep sleep. Raph and Leo brought the sleeping turtles back to Don's room and put them to bed together again. Just like the night before, they went into the hall to speak so not to disturbed their brothers.

"I'm worried 'bout them, Leo," Raph said, "Don didn't say anything about how they need to be treated, and Mikey didn't talk at all!"

"Calm down, Raph," Leo comforted him, "I'm worried to, but they're both strong. They can get through this."

"But what if they can't, Leo? Did you look into Mikey's eyes? They looked broken. So did Don's. What if they're gone for good, Leo?"

"They're not, Raph. They can't be."

They stood their in silence for a few minutes before Raph broke it; "We're going to have to ask them what happened soon."

Leo flinched. "I know," he replied, "and it's not something I'm looking forward to."

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**Review are nice, are you nice to give me a nice thing (for free).**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Finally, what you've been waiting for. What happened to Mikey and Don (somewhat).**

**Enjoy!**

**I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES!**

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It went on like that for nearly two weeks. Mikey and Don would sleep for hours at a time, get something to eat, get their bandages changes, hang out with Leo and Raph for a little while, and then go back to sleep in Donnie's bed. Mikey still had nightmares, and both brothers didn't want to leave the other, but they were sleeping less and less everyday.

Mikey and Don's physical condition continued to improve, but their mental condition didn't seem to change. Mikey still hardly talked to anyone but Don, and Don acted very protective of him. Both of them came close to having a break down if one of their brothers wasn't near them when they were awake. Don had defiantly made more progress then Mikey, though. Don would work on his projects and start saying facts that his brothers didn't understand, while Mikey wouldn't joke, read comics, play video games, anything. It seemed Don was still there, but Mikey was gone.

Raph and Leo didn't have the heart to ask them what had happened to them when they were in Bhisop's lab. Then, on a day their brothers had been awake for thirteen hours, Raph got impatient of all the waiting. He confronted them.

"What happen' to ya?" he asked them.

Don looked up and paled, and Mikey started shacking rapidly,both instently knowing what Raph was talking about. Don opened his mouth, about to respond before seeing Mikey's condition. He instantly got up and rushed over to his little brother, ready to comfort him. Don quickly pulled Mikey into a hug, which Mikey tried to get out of. Don started whispering comforting words to his little brother. Mikey began to calm down. Maybe to much, because he fell asleep quickly in Don's embrace.

Leo and Raph had stopped trying to help Don comfort Mikey. As much as it hurt them, they knew that Don did it best at the moment, and they just had to be patient with these moments between their brother. Raph got a feeling that he was going to regret asking.

After Mikey fell asleep, Don looked at his older brothers with pain filled eyes. He opened his mouth and closed it. He did that a few more times, and his brothers let him, knowing that Don did this when he is stressed.

Finally, Don was able to speak. "I-I-I really, really don't want to talk about this, but you guys have a right to know. Just...just help me take Mikey to bed. I don't want him to have to hear this, even if he's asleep. Living through it is enough." don really didn't want to leave Mikey, but he knew that, even in his sleep, Mikey would be effected by hearing the story.

Leo and Raph could hear the fear in Don's voice, so they decided not to argue. They brought Mikey into Don's room, and put him to bed before leaving the room and going back to the living room. They sat down on the coach, Don in the middle with his older brothers on eather sides.

"We...we were at the junkyard when Bishop got us," Don said in a wavering, fear filled voice. "Mikey had come to try and help me find a part I needed to fix something he broke. We had just found the part when Bishop's men came. We tried to fight them, but their were just so many. They overpowered us, and took us to Bishop's lab.

"At first, it wasn't so bad. He would take some blood samples, ask us questions, punch us every once in a while. But it got worse quickly. He had kept us in a room together at first, a cell. The cell had a screen in it, that had a live feed to the lab. They worked on me first. They tested my reaction to different things. Drugs, electrocution, pain. Mikey was forced to watch it all. Then they would throw me back to him, and he would still be happy, outgoing, cracking jokes to cheer me up.

"They dissected me first." Raph and Leo stiffened at Don's words. They had did their best to hide all emotion, but they couldn't when their suspicion was true. "Mikey was forced to watch it. He was still cheerful. I knew he was putting up an act, an act that was slowly breaking. He hated this, and was ready to break. The next day, they switched to Mikey.

"They did all the same things to him as they did to me. They yelled at him, abused him, used him as their little lab rat. His acted started falling, but he kept it up. It was crumbling, little by little. Day by day. It didn't fool me when they threw him back to me at the end of what I assume was a day. It didn't fool me as I watched him on the screen. But it fooled the "scientist" Bishop had, and even Bishop himself. That was Mikey's downfall."

Leo and Raph wanted to yell at Don to stop, that they couldn't stand knowing anymore, but they couldn't. But they knew, they had to keep listening. They couldn't help their baby brothers without knowing what they went through. They let Don continue.

"They took him like normal, but they didn't put it all on the screen instantly like always. Instead, Bishop came on the screen. He explained something to me, something I wish I never heard. He explained that him and his "doctors" believed Mikey to have a mental disorder. ADHD. I had come to this conclusion about Mikey before, but knew there was nothing I could do for him, so I never said anything. Bishop told me that, when ADHD was first discovered, they would... test the ADHD person's brain to see how to cure it. He told me he had decided to test Mikey.

"They made me watch. I had read about what they did to those people, knew that most of them died, others went brain dead. I watched as they cut Mikey's head open. They poked around a little while, before his heart monitor started going crazy. The screen was shut off.

"I worried for what felt like forever before they threw Mikey back to me, a bandage around his head. He was unconscious. I tried to get him to wake up, and it worked. Mikey woke up, and smiled slightly at me, gripping my hand tightly. I did the few test I could remember and do to test for brain damage, he tested negative for all of them, so I knew he was OK. After he fell asleep again, Bishop came on the screen, telling me that Mikey was lucky to be alive, saying how he didn't want to kill his play things."

Don was shacking, much like Mikey had earlier. Leo and Raph both put an arm around their brother, trying to comfort him. "You can stop," Leo told Don, "You can tell us the rest another time." Raph nodded in agreement. Both of them wanted to know the rest so they can help their brothers heal, but seeing how much pain it caused one of them, they didn't want to push.

Don shook his head. "No," he whispered, "I'll finish telling you. I'm almost done, anyhow." the older turtles nodded. They all sat in silence for a minute or two. Raph and Leo let Don have time to collect himself, holding him tight to keep him grounded to the here and now.

"Mikey might not of been brain dead after that, but he was broken. His spirt was lost. He stopped joking, laughing, fooling around. It had kept me sane through it all, and I only remained sane after because of my concern for Mikey. They began questioning us again. They wanted to know we're you were. They shot us with drugs, hit us, tortured us for the information. We never gave it to them. They stopped and left us alone for a day or two, before... dissecting me again, and Mikey for the first time. Then they locked us in the place you found us in. Then you found us, and you know what happens after that. The End."

Scilence rained after the story was over. Leo and Raph were livid over what Bishop had done to their brothers. They had only been gone a month, and that all happened to them. Don was distraught. Talking about what had happened hurt him more then he thought it would. He felt exhausted.

Raph and Leo saw the condition of their distraught brother, and gently guided him to bed. Mikey wasn't sleeping peacefully, until Don lied down next to him. His sleep eased as he unconsciously moved closer to Donnie in his sleep. Don seemed to relax slightly as well. Don fell asleep quickly as Leo and Raph took their leave from the room.

They went into the kitchen where Leo began making tea. It was prepared in silence as the brothers went over everything they had just been told. They wanted to find Bishop and kill him for everything he did to their brothers.

Leo looked at Raph. "You know Don's hiding something, right?"

Raph sighed while nodding his head. "He didn't go into details about what he went through, or the dissections."

Leo nodded and the two fell into a tense silence again.

"We'll help them," Raph said, "won't we, Leo? We'll get our little brothers back."

Leo nodded with a grim smirk on his face. "Of course we will, Raph," Leo comforted him. "I swear we'll get them back. Even if it's the last thing I do."


	4. Chapter 4

**IMPORTANT!**

**A/N: Hey. First, I'm sorry that it's been nearly a month since I updated, but I was affected by Hurricane Sandy and ended up being at my Grandma's house (with no computer/wifi) for most of the month. But I'm back to normal updating now (I hope).**

**Second, over the time I couldn't update, I thought about lots of stuff. One of those stuff was fan fictions that I've read and wished had gone another way. So, if you want something specific to happen, comment or PM me and I'll try to make it happen; (but no promises). Any ideas welcome.**

**Now, onto the story!**

**I DO NOT OWN THE TURTLES!**

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Raph and Leo became even more protective after hearing what hap happened to them while Bhisop had them, so they decided to stay in Don's room for the night. They set up two cots and quickly fell asleep, worried thoughts about their brother going through their head.

The next morning Leo woke up first. Unwilling to leave his brothers, he decided to meditate it Don's room. After a relaxing meditation, he opened his eyes to find Mikey watching him. Leo quickly masked his surprise as he spoke to the youngest turtle, "Morning, Mike. How are you?"

Mikey smiled slightly as he sat up slowly so he didn't wake Don. He gave Leo a thumbs up to show that he was good before looking at him questioningly. Leo and Raph had grown used to Mikey's odd way of communication, so Leo knew that Mikey wanted to know how he was. He smiled and said, "I'm good. Are you hungry?" Mikey held his finger's apart slightly, letting Leo know he was a little hungry.

Leo smiled, knowing that Mikey hadn't truly been hungry for awhile, only eating because he needed to. "Do you want to go eat now, or wait for Don and Raph to wake up?" Leo asked, knowing Mikey would choose the latter.

So he was very surprised when Mikey made a move to get up. While most injuries had healed, Mikey was still weak from having hardly any food for a month, and still not being able to eat a lot. Leo got up and helped Mikey stand up. "You really want to go now, Mike?" Mikey hesitated before nodding his head slowly. Leo didn't want to seem like an overprotective brother (which he is) so he agreed with Mikey and began helping him to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Leo made a move to help Mikey sit down in a chair so Leo could make breakfast, Mikey shook his head. He pushed himself out of Leo's grip and walked over to the fridge. He took out the carton of eggs and the package of bacon, and walked over to the stove with them. The he got a pan out of the cabinet as well as a spatula.

Leo watched Mikey prepare breakfast. He let Mikey go, ready to help if needed be. But, other then that, he stayed back. This was an improvement, and he wasn't going to do anything to stop him.

Mikey fried the bacon, scrambled the eggs, and even made tea and toast. Leo set the table while Mikey cooked in silence.

Soon enough, the food was done and the two brothers sat at the kitchen ate in silence; Leo surprised by Mikey's improvement and Mikey just being who he was recently.

Panicked footsteps were heard stomping around the lair before Raph was standing in the kitchen, breathing slightly heavy. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw his brothers sitting at the table. "Mornin' guys," he greater them, "What's up?"

Leo saw that Raph really ment what was going on, so he shrugged while a smile graced his lips.. "We were up and Mikey wanted to get some breakfast," Leo answered, "I helped him here, and I'm sure you can figure it out from there."

Raph smirked, happy for his brother. Suddenly, he realized that Don was all alone in his room and turned around, quickly bolting to the genus turtle.

Don was just waking up when Raph entered the room. He walked over to the bed and waited till Don was actually awake before saying good morning.

"Morning, Raph," Don replied, "Where are the others?"

Raph smiled at Don gently, "Their in the kitchen. Want to join them?"

Don nodded his head and stood up. Not only was Don's mental condition better then Mikey's, but his physical condition was better as well. He easily walked to the kitchen side by side with Raph. The turtles took their place at the table and ate breakfast as a family. Master Splinter hadn't come out of his room yet, so they decided to clean up and leave some food for their father.

As Raph and Don were cleaning the dishes, Don complemented Keo on his cooking skills. Leo and Mikey shared a smirk before Leo spoke. "Actually, Donnie, Mikey made breakfast."

The middle brothers stopped what they were doing instently, and starred at Mikey in shock for a moment. Mikey skurmed in discomfort soon after the stares had started, not likening being the center of attention for something so normal. Don, as if noticing his baby brother's (which he probably had) smiled at him. "Sorry, Mikey," Don apologized, "I should have know it was your food. Leo could never cook anything so good."

Mikey smiled as Leo gave a shot of protest. "I can to make something that tastes good," he told the family genus.

Raph laughed, "No, you can't, Leo," he agreed with is younger brother. "That's why I've been doing all the cooking."

The younger turtles laughed at Leo's expense, with Leo joining in with their laughter soon after.

It wasn't a big step on the road to recovery on Mikey's part, but it was a start. And that's all his brothers could ask for.

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**Shorter then normal (I think), but I liked the fluffy ending line. Remember; Review, tell me if you want something to happen, and not all people from Maine are lobstermen.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry! My outline for this story (and all my others) are on my iPod. My little cousin was on it and deleted all my notes. I was able to remember my other outlines, but my one for this story was very specific. Because of that cousin, this story will be shorter. Sorry. **

**If you want something in the story to happen, tell me. If I can work it in, I'll do it. **

**I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES!**

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After breakfast, Don went into his lad with Mikey following behind. Leo and Raph decided to spar. Just as they started to break a sweat, Master Splinter came out if his room. "My sons, please come to me," he called.

Raph and Leo instantly stopped sparring and kneeled before their father. Soon enough, Mikey and Don had exited the lab and joined their brothers. "Months ago, I had made plans to go a visit the Ancient One in Japan," Master Splinter told his sons. "I asked you before me now for your opinions. May I go and see my old friend, or should I remain here?"

Raph and Leo half expected Mikey to crack a joke about their dad asking them permission to do something. They half expected Don to start listing off injuries that were healed, and reasons why their master should go. But both turtles started silent, staring at each other.

Raph and Leo shared a quick look with each other before looking at Master Splinter. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Master Splinter?" Leo questioned "Considering... recent events."

The old rat nodded at the oldest turtle. "I see your point, Leonardo," Master Splinter agreed. "That's why I'm asking you if you believe it would be wise fir me to make this journey."

Leo and Raph shared another look before looking at their younger brothers. Don was whispering to Mikey rapidly. Mikey still wasn't talking, but was nodding and shaking his head every few words, as well as making some strange hand gestures. Raph and Leo look at each other once more before turning their eyes to their master once again.

"I don't think it's the best..." Raph began to speak his worries about their father leaving when he was cut off.

By Mikey.

"You should go."

Everyone stared at Mikey. No one, not even Don, had expected Mikey to speak. The voice had been quiet, weak because it hadn't been used in weeks. His brothers were very happy that he was improving so well now. It was two improvements within an hour of each other.

After a long moment, in which Mikey began looking more and more uncomfortable, Master Splinter finally broke the silence. "Then I will pack my bags and prepare for the long journey." The old rat then went back into his room.

The four brothers stared at the door for a minute before Mikey seemed to collapse. Instantly, all three of his brothers were at his side, comforting him.

"You did good, Mikey."

"Your one strong chucklehead."

"There's nothing to be afraid of."

And Mikey, for the first time since his rescue, began to believe that everything really would be OK.

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**And there is chapter...something. Not exactly sure what chapter I'm on. Sorry to all you Master Splinter fans, but I'm not comfortable with writing his character. And sorry it was so short.**

**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: New chapter! Sorry to this (because I suck at updating anyway) but updates will probably slower because I'm in stage crew at school and the musical started so I'm building and painting when I'm not in school or eating or sleeping or doing HW. I'm going to try to update once a week, but no promises. **

**On to the story. **

**I DON'T OWN THE TIRTLES!**

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After Master Splinter left, Mikey seemed to relax more and more. He was talking more, though he was still mostly silent. He also was spending more time away from Don, weather in his room or with one of his other brothers. Needless to say, his others where delighted. Their baby brother was finally coming back to them, slowly but surely.

Don seemed like he was perfectly back to normal. The usual quiet turtle, was even quieter. He was more protective of Mikey, and didn't like to let him out of his sight. But he knew that Mikey slowly becoming more independent was an important part of Mikey's recovery process.

It was about a week after Master Splinter left that Mikey had another improvement.

The four turtles where sitting in front of the TVs. Don was fiddling with some contraption or another. Raph was watching a wrestling match on TV. Leo was reading. And Mikey was just laying on the coach, watching them all.

All of them where distracted, so it took them a while to realize it. A familiar sound was sounding through the lair. The clicking of buttons and quiet music could barley be heard over the grunts from the wresting match. The three oldest turned to look, not quiet believing what they where hearing.

Mikey was playing on his gamedude.

In all the time he had been home, Mikey had never touched a video game. He had changed so much, becoming like a different person. He had never played a video game, or seemed like he wanted too. Now, here he was, playing on his gamedude with a small smile on his face, acting like nothing happened.

"Mikey," Don said in an awe filled voice. Mikey looked up, tilting his head to the side in a questioning manor.

"You're playing video games," Raph pointed out.

A smile spread across Mikey's face, a smile that his brothers hadn't seen in over a month. The one that seemed to take up his whole face.

"That's great, Mike!" Leo exclaimed.

"I missed them," Mikey spoke.

His brothers couldn't help be happy, knowing things where finally getting back to normal.

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**There you go. Another short chapter. Remember, I'll try to add anything anyone wants. Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey. It's been two weeks, for yet another short chapter, but it's a update. Here you go.**

**I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES!**

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Mikey hadn't had a set back, like Don had thought would happen. He hadn't moved toward recovery, like Raph and Leo had hoped. He cooked, he talked, he played his video games. He seemed like the normal Mikey, but quiet and more clingy.

Don, on the other hand, seemed to have stepped back. He had seemed to have gone back to normal once he got home, acting like nothing happened. But it seemed like Don was getting worse. He seemed nervous all the time, and he wasn't talking as much, or fixing things as often. He would just sit, staring into the distance.

Leo guessed that it had to do with Mikey's improvement. Leo believed, and was trying to get Raph to believe, that Don had held it together because Mikey had been so dependent on him. Don stated strong for Mikey.

If Leo was right, then Don was going to get even worse tonight. Mikey was trying something new.

He was going to sleep in his own room.

Mikey was trying to get better, he really was, and he thought the next step was sleeping in his own bed, away from Don. None of his brothers where OK with him sleeping alone, so Raph was going to sleep in Mikey's room with him, while Leo spent the night with Don (who insisted he didn't need to be turtle-sat).

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mike?" Don asked, "You don't have to this tonight."

"I want to," he responded. "Well, I'll be right there with ya," Raph told him, comforting both his little brothers.

"And I'll keep an eye on you, Don," Leo assured them.

The brothers said good night and went into the two younger brothers room.

**-THE NEXT MORNING-**

Leo and Don slowly made there way down the stairs. They hadn't slept well the night before. For the first time since coming home, Don's sleep had been plagued with nightmares. Leo had to wake him up every hour or so because of how bad they got.

As they entered the kitchen, they smelled Mikey's homemade pancakes. Him and Raph where sitting at the table eating and talking quietly. When they saw that their brothers where up, they said a good morning and started talking louder. Mikey fixed a plate for his older brothers and sat down at the table again.

After breakfast, Don and Mikey went into the lab, Mikey with his Gamedude in hand. Raph and Leo began talking about the night before.

"Don hardly slept last night," Leo told the red masked turtle. "He kept waking up from nightmares."

"Go figure," Raph grunted, "Mikey slept the whole night through."

"Do you believe me now, Raph?" Leo asked. "Don was being strong for Mikey. But now that Mikey is getting better-"

"Brainiac doesn't have to be strong anymore," Raph interrupted. "Ha got me on this one, Fearless. But the question is: how do we help Donnie?"

"The answer's the same as when we first found them," Leo answered grimly, "I have no idea."

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**Mikey improvement, Donnie whimp, and protective older brothers.**

**Im still accepting ideas until the next chapter is up, then it's really just wrapping it up.**

**Review**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: SORRY SORRY SO SO SORRY! But the play is over now, so i should be updating more (hopefully). **

**Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites. **

**I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES!**

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It was about a week after Mikey had moved back to his room, and over that time, Don had only become worse. Don seemed nervous all the time, and was spending less and less time in his lab, and more time watching Mikey play video games (but never playing himself).

Surprisingly, after all this time, Raph and Leo hadn't had a fight. But that was about to change.

It was stupid, really, the fight, but after weeks of keeping their anger in due to fear of scaring Mikey and Don, they broke.

"You're not listening to me, Fearless!" Raph yelled.

"I am, Raph," Leo hollered back, "But your wrong!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you-"

"STOP!"

The fighting brothers quickly shut up at Don's voice. They hadn't realized that the younger turtles had entered the living room in which the fight was.

Don was on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest and mumbling to himself. "No more yelling," he said, "No more screaming. No more fights. Stop. No more yelling..." over and over again.

Mikey, who was standing behind the distraught turtle, was scared, an Leo and Raph would be lying if they said they weren't as well. The elders rushed over to Donnie and kneeled down in front of him.

"Don?" Leo asked, "Donnie, can you hear me?"

"Come on, Brainiac. Answer fearless," Raph added.

The brothers where able to calm Don down, but once they did, he fell asleep. Leo sighed, "I was hoping this wouldn't happen."

Raph nodded in silent agreement as he picked Don up to bring him to bed. Leo and Raph quickly had Don settled into bed. They returned to the living room to find Mikey standing in the same spot, staring at the spot Don had been.

Sharing a concerned look, Raph and Leo approached Mikey.

"Mike," Raph called, "Mikey, can you hear me?" Mikey blinked, and slowly nodded his head.

The elder turtles silently sighed in relief, not wanting to go through what they just went through again. "You okay?" Leo asked as he glided Mikey so they could sit on the sofa. Mikey nodded slowly, breathing slightly labored.

They sat silently, the older brothers rubbing the younger's shell in a soothing manor.

After some time, in which Mikey's breathing evened out, Leo asked Mikey if he wanted to talk about it. Mikey shook his head. "Can... Can we just watch TV?" he asked, to which both brother agreed.

After turning on some senseless cartoon that only Mikey enjoyed, Mikey started to doze off on Raph. The protectors shared a meaningful look over Mikey's head, wondering just how bad their brothers were.

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**Hope you liked it! Review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. Stuff happens. **

**THE TURTLES AREN'T MINE**

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After his break down, Donnie started to improve, much to his brothers joy. It seemed like he had kept all his feelings inside of him and, once he let them all out, he improved.

Mikey seemed to be keeping a steady improving rate, despite his minor breakdown after Don's.

It was roughly two months after Raph and Leo had save there little brothers. The younger turtles's injuries had mostly healed, an their mental status had improved. They still had nightmares, and their weight was still lower then when they had been captured, but they had improved.

The turtles where spending a quiet night watching TV as a family. A commercial came on and Don cleared his throat. Instantly, Leo and Raph paid attention to their brother.

"What's up, Donnie?" Leo asked.

"Ummm...it's just...well," Don struggled to get the words he wanted. He was nervous, and slightly afraid, but he knew he had to say this.

"Take you time, bro," Raph ordered in a comforting way. Don took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's...well..." Don hesitated one last time, "Mikey and I want to start training again."

Leo and Raph blink and shared a look. Neither could think of any reason why their brothers shouldn't start training again. However, suspicion was placed in their minds because of how hard it was for Donnie to say that.

"If that's what you and Mike want," Raph said after a moment, "I can't think of any reason that you can't train again. Can you, fearless?"

"No," Leo agreed, "But if ether of you are tiered, or hurt, or just feel funny, you tell us, and we'll take a break. Got it?"

Mikey an Don nodded their understanding as the movie cane back on.

After the movie marathon was over, and the turtles where going to bed, Leo stopped everyone. "We'll train at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."

Everyone agreed and went into their own rooms for the night.

The older turtles where never the wiser when their orange-clad brother got into bed with the purple-banded one.

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The turtle met in the kitchen at 7:30 for a light breakfast before practice. Leo and Raph watched in concern as Don and Mikey, who both had bags under their eyes, hardly ate anything.

As they where walking to the dojo, Raph called them out on not feeling well. "It's ok if you don't feel well," he said, "We can start practice in a day or two."

"We're fine, Raph," Don informed his brother coldly, "Drop it." Don stormed ahead of his older brothers, with Mikey following meekly behind him.

Leo and Raph watched them enter the dojo before turning to each other. "They ain't fine," Raph stated.

"I know, Raph," Leo agreed, "But they won't back down. We'll just have to watch them, and be there if they crash."

Raph didn't look to pleased, but agreed; "You better be right about this, fearless."

"_I hope so, too_," Leo thought as they entered to dojo.

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The brothers started out with a light stretch before going into some basic moves. After half-an-hour, they began to spar.

Raph and Leo weren't pushing themselves as hard as they usually do as they spared. Both were keeping an eye on the younger turtles.

Said turtles, however, didn't need an eye on them. They where fighting better then any time Raph or Leo could remember.

Mikey was jumping, flipping, and twisting every-which-way, better at dodging then getting a hit in. Don was pressing forward, going on the offensive. He would have gotten a lot of hits on Mikey if the younger turtle wasn't so good at dodging.

After nearly an hour of sparing, the brothers meditated and then ended practice. Mikey and Don retreated into Don's lab before their brothers could question them. Leo and Raph were left to talk about practice in the kitchen.

"What the shell was that?" Raph asked.

"They were better the I have ever seen them," Leo agreed.

"How is that possible?" Raph questioned. "They haven't practiced for months. They should be rusty, not better then ever."

"I don't know, Raph," Leo told his brother. "But we'll find out."


End file.
